Tiffin University (2-0, 2-0 GMAC) used a balanced offensive attack and strong defense to defeat Ohio Dominican in its home opener 28-13.
The Dragons opened the game with a 7:00 drive that took them 75 yards in 13 plays. Rushes by Darius Pinnix and Christian Carter along with two long pass plays to Anthony Lowe covering 18 and 20 yards led to a 5-yard TD scamper by Carter at the 8:14 mark to put TU up 7-0.
ODU could not manage any first quarter points but got on the board early in the second quarter, hitting a 28-yard pass play to tie the score 7-7. They also used a big 41-yard pass play on their next possession to set up an 18-yard TD strike with 5:09 left in the half and take a 13-7 lead.
The Dragons made a strong statement heading into the half, taking the ball on the 26-yard line and engineering a clutch drive led by Pinnix's strong rushing. TU converted three third-downs on the drive which ended when Josh Lewis caught a 3-yard pass from Carter with just 2 seconds remaining on the clock for the TD. Nick Basile's extra point gave TU a 14-12 lead at halftime.
The second half was all Dragons, as they shutout the Panthers and scored touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters. Carter hit Lowe on another big 44-yard pass play for a score with 6:44 in the third quarter to put TU ahead 21-13 for the only score of the quarter.
The Panthers put together a drive late in the third quarter that brought them to the TU 19-yard line, but the Dragons made a stand on fourth down to end their only threat of the quarter.
The Dragons put the pressure on early in the fourth quarter when Carter hit Jalen Thomas on a 11-yard TD strike with 11:37 left in the game to put the Dragons ahead 28-13.
With the lead in hand, it was time for the defense to assert itself. Barry Brown sacked ODU quarterback Jake Byrd and forced a fumble that Montez Kelley recovered to kill an ODU drive on the TU 14-yard line.
With 5:18 left in the game, ODU started another drive but this one ended when James Weaver III tipped away a pass that Chucky Lewis picked off to seal the victory.
Overall the Dragons' defense held ODU to just 38 yards rushing and posted 4 sacks in the game while holding ODU to just 4 for 11 on third-down conversions.
The TU offense posted 209 yards rushing and 213 yards passing for 422 total yards. They also had 27 first downs to ODU's 17.
Carter was highly efficient behind center, ,going 21 for 27 for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions and only one sack. He also rushed for 38 yards.
Pinnix totaled 108 yards on 21 carries while Justin Felder also gained 61 yards on 10 rushes. Lowe was a workhorse, making 10 catches for 120 yards, while Jalen Thomas had 55 yards on 8 receptions.
Defensively Sir Zion Dance had 9 tackles while Brown added 6 more with a sack and forced fumble. Kelley and Zion Farmer also had sacks, while Latrell Robinson and Zeke Brown had half sacks.